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Cultural Sovereignty
Russian Influence
As with many other aspects of its culture, Ukraine’s largest competitor in the national media market is Russia. Especially when Ukraine first emerged as an independent nation, Russian productions and language threatened to dominate nearly all Ukrainian media platforms.
During 2007-2009, he explains the average newsstand in Ukraine sold mostly Russian-language magazines. Even after the Orange Revolution, the Russian-language press constituted 85-90% of all publications. In the Ukrainian book market, Russian language literature, including that which is imported from Russia, dominates. Russian content and language was so prevalent on television that in 2006 a law was passed mandating that 75% of all broadcasts in Ukraine be in Ukrainian. In addition, new rules were introduced that required all foreign films to be dubbed in Ukrainian (2).
Television
In 2009, the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Post produced a TV Guide, which featured music TV channels, news, soap operas, and mystery series. According to the reporter, Ukraine’s two most popular TV channels, 1+1 and Inter, are full of “non-stop marathon of soap operas of Ukrainian-Russian production occasionally interrupted by news bulletins and a few other programs.”
A study on Ukraine’s media environment sponsored by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), an international policy organization, showed that in 2010 Inter and 1+1 were Ukraine’s two most popular TV channels, with a collective audience share of over 28% (13).While the Kyiv Post talks only of soap operas and news, Inter’s website proclaims that it is “the main channel of the country.” A variety of Ukrainian-produced shows are featured, although Inter also partners with international businesses such as Sony, Dreamworks, Disney, Warner Bros, and Universal Pictures.
Internet
Ukraine has become an increasingly larger presence on the internet. There are a number of national sites available, primarily news sites. The study sponsored by KAS showed that the Ukrainian public were still drawn towards globally popular sites. Google, Youtube, Facebook, and Wikipedia are all listed in the top 10 in the country (13).
Music
| Svetlanda Loboda's song 40 Gradusov is at number 2 on the Ukrainian top 40 right now. In English, the song title means "40 degrees." |
Musically, Ukraine’s popular taste seems to be a mix of Ukrainian and Western artists. A top 40 chart for Ukraine shows that Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy holds the number one spot. Number two is another Ukrainian artist, Svetlana Loboda.
It is not until number 10 that the American artists Pink appears. Other featured Western artists are Rihanna, Will.i.am., and Brittney Spears.